The Perkiomen School used its speed and athleticism to roll to a 58-38 win over neighboring Upper Perkiomen in the nightcap of a girls-boys doubleheader at the prep school's? packed home gym Friday evening.

                Nick Guadarrama led the way with 18 points as the Panthers (19-5) overcame a slow first quarter to take command of the game before halftime and cruise in the second half.

                Chandler Brooks and Reggie James added 12 apiece.

                James set the tone for the game in the first minute of play, making a steal and racing in for one of Perkiomen's five slam dunks on the night. He was also tasked with guarding UP standout Ryan Kendra (12 points) in the Panther's aggressive man-to-man.

                "I thought that was one of the better games [James] played all season," first-year coach Thomas Baudinet observed. "Controlling tempo, not turning it over, making good decisions, and he scored us some, too. I thought that was one of the best performances he's had in a while."

                The Tribe bounced back early to take a 6-4 lead on 3-pointers by Kendra and Liam Boyle, but Guadarrama's short baseline jumper and thunderous dunk gave Perkiomen a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the night.

                At the outset, the visiting Tribe (12-10) was controlling the tempo with a zone and a patient offense, knowing the best chance they had was to slow the Panthers down and make outside shots.

                "We can struggle offensively in the half-court, because we don't shoot it great," Baudinet said. "We don't like to get into a game where it's really slow, and especially when teams zone us like they did in the first half. It's tough when you really struggle from three."

                The Tribe trailed 12-8 at the break, but would make only one more 3 the rest of the night, and Perkiomen's defensive pressure led to a 9-1 run at the beginning of the second quarter.

                Brooks dunked off a turnover, Miles Longstreth hit a trey, one of three on the night by the team, and Brooks converted a lay-up to build a 21-9 lead.

                Will Walker (team high 13 points) broke the spell with a traditional 3-point play, but the half ended with the Panthers holding a 12-point advantage.

                In the third quarter, the Tribe went cold from outside and made the mistake of trying to play the Panther's style of basketball.

                 That only fueled Perkiomen's momentum, which was punctuated by a two-hand dunk by Brons and windmill jam by Guadarrama on consecutive possessions to widen the gap to 32-14.

                "In the third quarter we were able to get some more turnovers and get out and run, and that's really what we like to do," Baudinet said.

                Upper Perk coach Jared Krupp was seeing the same thing on the visitor's bench.

                "They pair size with speed, with energy, and it's tough to play against kids of that size, that talent, that energy and that speed."

                Afterwards, both coaches turned their thoughts to the playoffs. The prep school faced the possibility of playing four consecutive games this week, while the Tribe learned on Sunday that it will be facing Great Valley on the road Wednesday.

                Krupp is hopeful that the experience against The Perkiomen School will turn out to be a plus.

                "It shows us how good teams might be, kind of where we need to clean up our mistakes."